Jail for scrap metal thief who just kept on stealing

A scrap metal thief has been jailed after being told by a sheriff: “Frankly, I don’t have much of an alternative.”

Scott Grierson targeted an industrial estate and block of flats in Falkirk and a business park in Alloa to steal metal, cables and lead during a two-year crime spree.

The 23-year-old appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court from custody last Thursday after being remanded for breaching a curfew imposed last month while social workers completed background reports on him.

Grierson had admitted stealing cabling from Bankside Industrial Estate, Abbots Road, Falkirk in August 2014, metal and cables from Castlebridge Business Park, Alloa in October last year and lead from the roof of a block of flats at Longdales Road, Falkirk on April 29 this year.

The court was told the lead has been taken in the middle of the night.

Defence lawyer Stephen Biggam urged the court to spare Grierson jail.

He said: “He is looking for one last opportunity. He understands what would be required of him and willing to engage.”

Jailing him for a total of 15 months on all charges, Sheriff Craig Caldwell told Grierson, from 5 Buchanan Court, New Carron: “Frankly, I don’t have much of an alternative.

“My view is you have been given adequate opportunities, in particular to engage with community-based disposals and stop reoffending and done none of those things. It’s now time to bring matters to an end.”

Sheriff Caldwell backdated the sentences to October 13, the date Grierson was remanded in custody.

At the same court, 34-year-old Gary Bennett was jailed for 12 months for assaulting his partner and two police officers in Airth Castle Hotel on July 23 - while he was ‘celebrating’ his release from prison.

Sheriff Caldwell told Bennett, whose address was given as Low Moss Prison: “I’ve considered a community based sentence and rejected it. You caused considerable fear and disruption. Your record is appalling.”